I could not help myself.

It started about Wednesday.

Please forgive me.

But, I started counting the days until Spring Break!

I have the whole week off next week and I am ready.

I do not want you to think that I do not love teaching. I really do! But this last week has been a hard, long week.

We had a death in our school community.

Our fabulous custodian had a freak motorcycle accident and was killed last week.

We cried. The students cried. We asked, why? The students asked, why?

It was hard to walk past the cafeteria and not look for him, talking to the kids, laughing, working hard, and doing it all with a smile.

He was only 40 years old.

He would crank up the music in the cafeteria after lunch and move tables, sweep, mop and take out the mounds and mounds of trash left over by, around 800, constantly starving students.

He was excited about getting a new snow blower next year.

He was fabulous.

His funeral is today.

It will be held at school.

He loved our school.

We loved him.

Please think of our kiddos, while they struggle to say goodbye to a young vibrant man, that was more than just a custodian. He was a father, a grandfather, a man not afraid to break up a fight at school, play basketball in the gym with the kids, come to every teachers rescue when we had leaking pipes, freezing trailers, wet floors, cold water and broken chairs.

Now we have broken hearts.

Thank you for letting me share about a man that our school will not soon forget.

Becky